THE SMOOTH GKEYIIOUXD. 37 



fined to a very limited circle of competitors, partly owing to the 

 careful retention of the best blood in the kennels of a chosen few, 

 but chiefly to the existing game laws, which made it imperative 

 that every person coursing should not only have a certificate, but 

 also a qualification, that is to say, the possession of landed prop- 

 erty to the value of one hundred pounds per annum. Hence the 

 sport was forbidden to the middle classes, and it was not until 

 1831 that it was thrown open to them. From that time to the 

 present the possession of the greyhound has been coveted and 

 obtained by great numbers of country gentlemen and farmers in 

 rural districts, and by professional men as well as tradesmen in our 

 cities and towns, so that the total number in Great Britain and 

 Ireland may be estimated at about fifteen or twenty thousand. Of 

 these about five or six thousand arc kept for public coursing, while 

 the remainder amuse their owners by coursing the hare in private. 



Various explanations have been oflTercd of the etymology of the 

 prefix grey, some contending that the color is implied, others that 

 it means Greek {Grains), while a, third party understand it to mean 

 great. But as there is a remarkable peculiarity in this breed con- 

 nected with it, w^e need not, I think, go farther for the derivation. 

 No other breed, I believe, has the blue or grey color prevalent; and 

 those which possess it at all have it mLxed with white, or other 

 color ; as, for instance, the blue-mottled harrier, and the blotched 

 blue and brown seen in some other kinds. The greyhound, on the 

 contrary, has the pure blue or iron grey color very commonly ; and 

 although this shade is not admired by any lovers of the animal for 

 its beauty, it will make its appearance occasionally. Hence it may 

 fairly be considered a peculiarity of the breed, and this grey color 

 may, therefore, with a fair show of probability, have given the 

 name to the greyhound. 



In describing the greyhound it is usual, and indeed almost neces- 

 sary, to consider him as used for the two purposes already men- 

 tioned, that is to say, — 1st, as the private, and 2ndly, as the public, 

 greyhound ; for though externally there is no dificrence whatever, 

 yet in the more delicate organization of his brain and nerves there 

 is some obscure variation, by which he is rendered more swift and 



